With 220 counties in the U.S. identified as at-risk for an HIV and hepatitis C outbreak, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is aiming to better understand drug use, how to curb it and how to prevent the spread of infectious disease.

Southern West Virginia will be one of the areas studied, including Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Boone, Logan and Kanawha counties.

Twenty-eight of West Virginia’s 55 counties were included in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s at-risk list, which was formulated after an outbreak of HIV infections related to injection of prescription opioids in late 2014 in the rural, Scott County community of Austin, Ind.

“The grant will be administered in two phases,” explained Dr. Judith Feinberg, a professor at West Virginia University. “There’s a two-year planning and information gathering part, then the last three years are implementation of programs and services based on what we found out in the first two years…”

Typically, the mayor of Buckhannon reserves his official statements — which he reads aloud from a sheet (or two or three) of paper — at the end of city council meetings when yawns and the desire to head home has set in among council members and attendees alike.

But Thursday’s message wasn’t a typical one, and it couldn’t wait, David McCauley felt, as he began to read his statement, even before the traditional moment of prayer and silent meditation and Pledge of Allegiance to the flag had gotten underway. In the wake of the Unite the Right rally and opposing protests Aug. 11-12 in Charlottesville, Va., which left one woman dead and 19 people injured, McCauley felt it was his duty to deliver an unequivocal response — one that left no one in doubt about Buckhannon’s stance on inclusivity.

“We are extremely fortunate to live in a close-knit, inviting, tolerant and inclusive community,” McCauley said. “In the wake of the horrible events occurring in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, we here in our Buckhannon-Upshur community need to be united and vigilant in our rejection of hate and those who would seek to exploit it here.”

The mayor pointed out that Charlottesville was a mere 174 miles — or about a three-and-a-half hour drive from Buckhannon. If it could happen there, it could happen almost anywhere, he said…

Photo from Out in the South: Central Appalachia, in Charleston on May 23.

All of us Hubbers are often involved in community events and organizing in our own communities, outside of our roles with The Hub.

I am no different. I have been involved with The STAY Project as a member since July 2016 and as a Steering Committee Member since November 2016. In my role with STAY, I worked to recruit folks to the recent Out in the South: Central Appalachia convening that happened in Charleston on May 23, in partnership with the Appalachian Community Fund.

The goal of this convening was to pull together queer folks, and organizations that serve queer folks, in West Virginia to talk about the bright spots and not so bright spots that we recognize in our communities as queer people.

In the two years that I’ve lived in West Virginia I have relentlessly sought out a physical space where queer folks gather, and until Tuesday I was not satisfied.

There were folks in the room of all ages – from high school students to older adults. There were folks from Roane County, Fayette County, Raleigh County, Boone County, Mingo County, Kanawha County, and maybe more. There were lesbians, gay men, bisexual folks, trans folks, allies, and more. And everyone had something different to say about their community.

For me, the most important community I’m a part of doesn’t hold a physical space – it’s people. It’s the people who make me feel loved, valued, safe, and whole – all things that sometimes can’t be found in a physical space.

In the two years that I’ve lived in West Virginia I have relentlessly sought out a physical space where queer folks gather, and until Tuesday I was not satisfied.

I recognized that we all go through very similar challenges, but because we are rural folks, and because we are so spread out from one another, we often get stuck by obstacles in our way.

But in this space where we can talk, exist in solidarity, and organize, that’s how we can move forward.

It’s not that different from community development for a physical community. You have to get together face to face, recognize the obstacles in your way, and develop a plan to address those obstacles. That’s building power, and without power you can’t organize, and if you can’t organize you can’t change things.

I hope that folks will continue to advocate for that third space to gather, organize, and build power.

I so enjoyed the opportunity to convene with so many beautiful people. I enjoyed hearing their stories, seeing them smile, and building a community just in that room.

I hope that folks will continue to advocate for that third space to gather, organize, and build power.

I’m also going to insert a shameless plug for The STAY Project, an organization that was founded specifically for the purpose of creating safe spaces for young Central Appalachians to gather, organize, plan, and advocate for safer, more inclusive, and healthier communities.

This organization changed my life y’all. It gave me access to that non-physical community that I never knew existed, right here at home. It gave me the opportunity to step up and be an organizer for young queer folks in West Virginia and Central Appalachia. It also gave me the opportunity to shine under pressure, to learn networking and leadership skills from other young leaders, and much more.

If the kind of stuff I’ve talked about in this blog post sounds like your jam, check out The STAY Project on social media and their website.

And they are holding their Summer Institute in West Virginia this year! So if you are 14-30 years old and living in Central Appalachia, join them at the Appalachian South Folk Life Center July 6-9 in Pipestem, West Virginia.

The STAY (Stay Together Appalachian Youth) Project has played an important role in the lives of many young Appalachians in the past six years.

STAY’s mission is to serve as a diverse regional network of young people working together to create, advocate for and participate in safe, sustainable, engaging and inclusive communities throughout Appalachia and beyond.

STAY members are hard at work advocating in their communities all across the region, and you can find them engaging other young people in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

But we’d like to highlight the special opportunities that West Virginians will have to engage with The STAY Project this year.

In Charleston on May 23, Out in the South will bring queer folk of all ages together with organizations that serve queer folk for an opportunity to connect, celebrate, share stories and resources, and connect the dots between apparent needs and sources of LGBTQ+ funding.

The STAY Project’s most well known event is the STAY Summer Institute (SSI), an annual gathering of all STAY members, where a bunch of folks get together for youth leadership development, celebration, and collective learning and growth.

SSI rotates to a new state in the region every year. This year the institute will be hosted in West Virginia!

This summer, STAY members will gather at the Appalachian South Folklife Center in Pipestem, July 6 – 9, where they will engage new members and bring new people into their network.

Are you between the ages of 14 and 30? Do you live in central Appalachia? Register for SSI 2017 here!

To learn more about STAY, you can become a member here. You can also connect with the organization on Facebook here, and find STAY on Instagram and Twitter @stayproject.

When Mike Lujano and George Lenz hoisted a rainbow flag outside their business in a Victorian brownstone on Market Street two decades ago, they found that few neighbors in socially conservative Wheeling, West Virginia, knew it was a symbol of gay pride.

The married owners of Edna’s hair salon in this faded industrial city of 28,000 at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains never dreamed that one day they would be at a packed city council meeting, cheering the passage of an ordinance barring discrimination over sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We told people this wasn’t a bad place. Finally, this confirmed it.”

Defying stereotypes in the U.S. culture wars over lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, Wheeling is among a recent wave of small cities, many in parts of the country that voted for Republican President Donald Trump, to embrace these protections.

“We told people this wasn’t a bad place,” said Lujano, 53, who was in the audience when the ordinance passed in late December. “Finally, this confirmed it.”

About 50 U.S. municipalities in 15 states have added LGBT nondiscrimination measures since 2015, when same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide. More than half of those cities and towns are located in counties that backed Trump in November’s election, and all are in states he won, a Reuters analysis found…

West Virginians tend to have an intense passion for their state personally, yet demur when approached by outsiders — assuming that the news of lost coal jobs, of opioid abuse, of health crises has poisoned the well for mutual respect.

Not so with Katelyn Campbell, who wears her Mountain State flag proudly: When the 21-year-old graduated cum laude in the fall from Wellesley College, the all-women’s school known for producing Hillary Clinton, she wrote that her West Virginia public school education had “paid off in spades.”

Campbell was just a senior at Charleston’s George Washington High School in 2013 when she made national headlines — after she protested her principal’s decision to solicit private donations to bring a pro-abstinence sex-ed teacher on campus.

Even her online dating profile is unapologetic: “App-uh-latch-uh til I die. 9th generation West Virginian and lifelong activist.”

Sitting at Ellen’s Homemade Ice Cream in downtown Charleston, Campbell mentions that the hipster do-gooder business owed its origins in part to the Back to the Land movement in the early ’70s. It’s kind of her schtick — with history informing present things.

Campbell was just a senior at Charleston’s George Washington High School in 2013 when she made national headlines — after she protested her principal’s decision to solicit private donations to bring a pro-abstinence sex-ed teacher on campus. Her bold move earned her spots on the BBC, CNN and ABC, and speeches at nationwide conferences for pro-choice causes.

Since then, she’s been given the Youth Advocating Change Award by Partners in Sex Education and the Young West Virginia Power-Building Award, a nod to summers spent volunteering for greater access to safe water and birth control in rural parts of her state…

People who have served time behind bars for mistakes they made in the past continue to face enormous obstacles once they finish their sentences.

Although they have done their time, punishment continues to follow them – their ever-present criminal record makes it very hard for ex-offenders to find meaningful employment and secure housing, and impedes every effort to turn their life around.

A national, bipartisan consensus is emerging that recognizes we must address the growth of incarceration and its lifetime of punishment.

A proposal will be put before the Legislature that removes obstacles for ex-offenders, and makes it possible for them to return to the workforce and create a stable future for themselves and their families.

In order to expand economic opportunity and address unemployment and substance abuse we must address the myriad of collateral consequences incarceration visits upon families and our communities.

This year, a proposal will be put before the West Virginia State Legislature that removes some of these obstacles for ex-offenders, and makes it possible for them to return to the workforce and create a stable future for themselves and their families.

In Charleston this Thursday, February 9, the Employers’ Breakfast for Second Chances will give business leaders and legislators an opportunity to discover the enormous untapped potential of formerly incarcerated individuals and further understand how bringing them into the workforce would benefit our economy and state.

When it comes to creating an inclusive community for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, the City of Huntington ranks higher than many cities in West Virginia and across the country, according to a new report from the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.

“We are organizing our community so that every person has a distinct and vested responsibility to advance our city’s prosperity.”

Huntington received a score of 85 on a 100-point scale, which is in the top 25 percent of cities that were evaluated. The nationwide average was 55.

Charles Town (50), Lewisburg (49), Morgantown (46) and Parkersburg (20) were also included in the report. Charleston and Wheeling were listed in the report as well but their scores were not immediately available Tuesday.

Huntington was also one of only 87 cities from states without nondiscrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people that scored above the nationwide average of 55 points. These cities averaged 80-point scores.

Huntington improved its score of 65 in last year’s report because of an LGBTQ liaison being assigned to the Huntington Police Department, providing services to those living with HIV/AIDS, leadership’s pro-equality policy efforts, and a nondiscrimination policy for city contractors.

“A year later, our expectations are even more resolute. We expect to be known as a city of honor, respect and compassion,” Mayor Steve Williams said. “And while I am pleased to know that we have made strides to become more inclusive in Huntington, our work is not done. We are organizing our community so that every person has a distinct and vested responsibility to advance our city’s prosperity…”

Although some dispute arose, a majority offered utmost support for housing and employment rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents during a public hearing Tuesday in Wheeling.

Almost 50 people, including residents of the city and people from all over West Virginia, approached the podium to offer their opinions to Wheeling City Council, as the group considers including such language in the city’s existing human rights ordinance. Speakers received three minutes each, and they filed through in a civil procession which took about two and a half hours to conclude.

Wheeling City Council considers including language about housing and employment rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in the city’s existing human rights ordinance.

About 350 people attended the event, held in Wheeling Park’s White Palace ballroom.

“For those of you who are against LGBT rights, for whatever reason, I would ask that you go home tonight and you look at your children and the children that you know,” Tyler Smith, a resident of Wheeling, said.

“If you pick out 10 children that you care about, one of them is gay.”

Smith was citing a statistic, making the case that diversity in sexual orientation is something more people should recognize…

Just in time for the election: a free scorecard that runs down the voting record of every state senator and House delegate is available for voters in West Virginia.

The Heroes and Zeros 2015/2016 scorecard was created by the West Virginia Citizen Action Group and is freely available on their website, wvcag.org. Gary Zuckett, executive director at CAG, said the guide looks at every important vote on a wide variety of progressive issues – from prevailing wage and water quality to voter ID and the so-called religious freedom restoration act – and assigns representatives a score based on their voting record.

“People can really get a feel for what their individual legislator did. Vote by vote, bill by bill, issue by issue.”

“People can really get a feel for what their individual legislator did,” Zuckett said. “Vote by vote, bill by bill, issue by issue, they can find out how they were represented during the past two years.”

Groups across the spectrum endorse candidates: unions, industries and organizations focused on individual issues such as guns or abortion. But Heroes and Zeros is one of the most comprehensive scorecards available – and it’s certainly one of the most progressive.

Zuckett said that based on the information collected for the guide, the Legislature seems to be moving in a very conservative direction.

“I’m afraid they would have to get a failing grade,” he said of representatives’ support of progressive issues. “In the House, just under half are at 20 percent or less. They only got one out of five right. And the Senate is actually worse.”

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